EXPANDING THE ZONES: FOSTERING INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

Innovation and entrepreneurship have become clichés in today’s post-secondary education where most institutions profess to embody these ideals yet fail to make accessible supporting resources, curricular infrastructure, and opportunities for its students. Despite the rise of university-connected initiatives such as incubators and start-up programs, they often focus on nurturing specific industries, profit-focused enterprises, or established, skilled entrepreneurs. As a result, many post-secondary institutions often unknowingly expose entrepreneurial innovation to a restricted group. In response to this dilemma some progressive post-secondary institutions have developed strategic initiatives that provide opportunities for a wide spectrum of its students to not only participate in these types of activities but also make them a distinguishing feature to both their academic careers as well as the university’s identity.

This paper outlines the framework developed and implemented within one of Canada’s largest urban universities that cultivates students’ entrepreneurial interests through a range of disciplines and knowledge bases. While discrete entities within the university, these “zones” also provide collaborative opportunities for students to engage in activities ranging from incubating a tech start-up to 3D printing jewelry prototypes. Within this Zone ecosystem, all students in the university have the potential to develop their extracurricular initiatives within an academic framework that provides support and resources to bring their innovations to reality. The success of the Zone ecosystem has garnered distinctions ranging from sustaining the world’s third-ranked business incubator to delivering solutions to food security challenges in remote communities. As universities continue to become institutions striving to educate in tandem with fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, the Zone model is an excellent precedent that will undoubtedly gain ubiquity around the world.